Area residents are continuing their fight against a Carbon County project to build office space and a garage on Susquehanna Street in Jim Thorpe.

Mary Shorten, caretaker of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, started a petition on change.org: Stop the Susquehanna Street Project.

Shorten says in the petition, “In order to construct this building they must remove 40 feet of rock out of the mountain that is the foundation of Saint Mark’s Church and the old Blue Mountain Sports building future home of MYST. restaurant. The vibration from construction has the potential of damaging or destroying the priceless Tiffany windows in Saint Mark’s or possibly the foundation of both buildings.

“We have started this petition with the hopes of convincing our commissioners that this location is not worth the risk of destroying what makes Jim Thorpe where we chose to raise our families or a destination of so many visitors each year. This building is proposed to cost 14-16 million county tax dollars and will NOT be a benefit to our town. It will be a locked facility and the metered parking along Susquehanna Street will be removed.”

As of Friday afternoon, the petition had nearly 1,000 signatures.

A few borough residents also came to the Carbon County commissioners meeting this week to question the commissioners on the upcoming Susquehanna Street building project.

Edith Lukasevich, attending as a resident rather than as a borough council member, said that up until the last council meeting, she was excited about the project. However, after the discussion between council and the county at that meeting, she questioned how prepared officials were because they didn’t have answers to many of council’s questions.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said that many of the answers were not back yet from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, such as the Highway Occupancy Permit and that there was a discrepancy in the ownership of the stormwater drainage, which is a borough and state issue.

He added that the county also could not provide complete answers on items such as the drilling because that cannot be determined until the existing maintenance building is demolished and boring and testing can be completed to see what they are dealing with.

Nothstein did say that they learned that there will be more space between the building, property line and the new gastropub that is going into the former Blue Mountain Sports shop.

Shawn Kresge of Penn Forest Township, who questioned the commissioners last week about the location of the building, again asked if the county looked at any other places that could solve concerns that some residents have.

Nothstein said that the county has tried several times to acquire a building in close proximity of the courthouse, but never was able to secure a site.

Several year ago, they looked at the YMCA building on Broadway, but the sale price was nearly double what the appraisal came back as.

The commissioners also tried to purchase the Hooven building and former gas station on Susquehanna Street to create office space in the building, but it was sold a day after the board voted to have an appraisal completed.

“We looked for something within walking distance,” Nothstein said. “Time is money if we have to travel across the river. Where else could we go?”

Nothstein said that the board even looked at renting from a local business owner, but the county would have been required to put in over $100,000 in renovations to meet its needs in a building it didn’t own, and then the rent was higher than the county would be able to pay.

“We tried to purchase other buildings in town and it just didn’t work out. ... Unfortunately, we cannot afford to just pick up and move to an area where we have plenty of parking space.”